Ore reducing machine



APH] 27 1937 A. D. HADsEL ORE REDUCING MACHINE Filed OCT.. 14, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l NAN /7 mm am T J ,E H r April '27, 1937. A. D. HADSEL 2,078,708

ORE REDUC ING MACHINE Filed Oct. 14, 1933 2 SheeLs---Sheei'l 2 IN V EN TOR. VH /qsEL ORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 27, 1937 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE oaE nEnUcING MACHINE Alvah D. Hadsel, Oakland, Calif. Application october 14, 1933, serial No. 693,659 claims. (ci. zza-4s) The present invention relates to improvements Figure 2 a vertical axial section through my in ore redu ing machines and its general object machine as seen from line 2--2 of Figure 1; is to provige a machine of the revolving type Figure 3 a top plan view of the machine;- in which o e may be reduced expeditiously and Figure 4 a detail view of a removable U-shaped 5 economically. member supporting a breaker plate; and

More particularly the present invention is an Figure 5 a perspective detailV view of an auximprovement over my invention of an ore reiliary bucket used in myinvention. ducing machine described in my co-pending ap- While I have shown only the preferred form plication Serial No. 657,919, filed February 15, of the invention it should be understood that 1933. In the latter invention it was proposed various changes or modifications may be made I0 to provide a drum with peripheral lifting buckets within the scope of the claims hereto attached 'and a breaking medium so' that -material fed Without departing from the spirit of the inveninto the drum would be lifted by the `buckets and tion. dropped o n the breaker medium whereby the In its preferred form my invention comprises material would be comminuted. The drum was a drum I formed with an annular series of buck- 15 provided with flanges at opposite ends so that ets 2 which are shaped substantially in the same a certain amount of water could be retained in manner as the buckets in my co-pending applithe drum and lighter particles dropping from cation, comprising a series of vanes 3 projecting the breaker medium would be made to float off inwardly from the rim of the drum, the varies with the water over the edges of the drum. being inclined inthe direction of travel, and side 20 In the present invention it is proposed to proflanges 4 which extend from the edges of the vide certain improvements in connection with vanes toward the ends of the drum, in a forthe said machine, and more particularly it -is wardly inclined direction so that material deproposed to provide means for removing certain livered into the drum by an elevator 5 and a parts of the material from vthe drum at certain chute 6 rst drops into the lower buckets, and 25 stages, to subject the removed material, exteis then lifted by thebuckets and gradually disriorly of the drum, to certain treatment for charged from the buckets toward the interiorof classifying the same, and to return part thereof the drum as the buckets rise from the horizontal into the drum for further impact with the impact center line to and beyond the vertical center medium. line. The flanges 4 forming the sides of the 30 More particularly it is proposed to apply the buckets are inclined so as to crowd the rising scheme of outside treatment of certain portions material from the ends of the drum toward the of the material going through the drum in two intermediate section so that when the material diiferent Ways. drops from the buckets, it will be conflned to a In the rst place it is proposed to subject central zone of the, drum intermediate the two 35 the material that remains in the buckets toward ends thereof. The drum is provided with anges the end of the discharge period, which material 'I and 8 at opposite ends so that a certain amount is most apt to contain valuable particles, to sepof water may be accommodated in the drum, the arate treatment outside of the machine for rewater being fed into the drum through a suit- 40 moval of the valuable particles, and to return able pipe 9. 40 the remaining material back into the drum. The drum according to the present invention In the second place, it is proposed in the present is supported externally on a semi-circular series invention to provide a special means for classiof rollers I0 and rotary motion isV imparted to fying light particles of material floating in the the drum in any suitable manner through a upper region of the waterl by removing such chain I I and a motor indicated at I2. At the 45 water from the drum through an outside classiopposite ends of the drum I provide standards fying circuit and to' by then returning the water I3 preferably made of concrete, and these standto the drum. I ards support two I-beams I4 which extend trans- Further objects and advantages ofv my invenversely through the entire drum, and which suption will appear as the specication proceeds, .port two substantially semi-circular baiile plates 50 -The preferred form of my invention is illus- I5 within the drum in spaced relation to one trated in the accompanying drawings, in'whichanother so that all the material dropping from Figure 1 vshows a vertical transverse section the buckets 2 is conned to a central zone bethrough .ny ore reducing machine. as Seen from tween the two baiiie plates. The baiile plates line I--I of Figure 2; serve as supporting means for a series of sub- 55 stantially U-shaped elements I6, one of which is shown in Figure 4, and which are adapted to hook over the baffle plates as shown at l1, and to bel arr-angedin adjacent relation as shown in Figure l. 'I'hese U-sh'aped members are provided in the bottoms thereof with breaker plates I8 and the two end members receive additional support on the I-beams It whilethe three inner members are suitably supported on angle clips I9 secured to the opposing baille plates respectively. It will be noted that the I-beams and all the breaker plates -are arranged at a slight angle to the horizontal plane, the angle being such that the dropping material which follows a curved path strikes the breaker plates substantially at right angles. noted that two series of breaker plates are provided, an upper series and a lower series, the breaker plates of the lower series being arranged in staggered relation to those of the upper series.

The device thus far described is substantially similar, except for certain structural features, to the device described in my co-pending application. In distinction from the co-pending application I provide means for guiding certain portions of the material to the outside of thle drum for separate treatment.

One `of these means is intended for specia treatment of concentrates contained in the ore. As the ore is raised in the buckets, the heavier particles or concentrates have a tendency to gravitate toward the bottom of each bucket, and the particles oi lighter specific gravity are crowded toward the top of the layer accommodated in each bucket. The lighter particles will therefore be discharged first while the heavier particles or concentrates, due to their greater inertia, will remain in the buckets toward the As the buckets, for instance, rise above the horizontal center line, the top` layer of each bucket containing the lighter weight material will roll off first, and will bel discharged upon the breaker plates. This process will substantially continue until the buckets reach the vertical center line, at which timev most of the material has been discharged from the bucket, and only a thin layer of very heavy material such as concentrates remains in the bucket. It is my intention to catch these heavy concentrates remaining in the buckets toward the last for sep-arate treatment, and for this purpose I provide a trough 2l) which extends into the drum at the place indicated, that is substantially in a position where it lwill catch the last remnants of material dropping from the buckets. This trough is covered by a wire screen 2| which will allow only the nner material to pass into the trough while the coarser material is discharged into the drum and follows the course of the material. The trough 20 is inclined downwardly so as to carry the fine concentrates which pass through the screen toward the outside of the drum and- 23, which extends into the drum and returns the material rejected by the sluice box back into the circuit ofthe bulk 'of vthe material. In this manner the precious metal or a large portion thereof is automatically taken out of the circuit' and is separated in an external circuit.

It should also be lighterparticles which iloat in the water contained in the drum; as the material-'is discharged from thebuckets 2 it drops on the breaker plates, is comminuted in part and the broken particles are returned from the breaker plates through the water toward the bottom of the drum. During this process the lighter particles are arrested 0n or near the surface of the water and the object of my .second improvement is to catch these lighter particles, and to subject the same to an independent process of classification outside of the general circuit ofthe drum. For this purpose I provide an annular series of buckets 2li somewhat similar in shape to the main buckets, but arranged closer to the axial center of the drum and at one or both ends of the drum so as to offer no interference to the operation of the main buckets. I These small buckets, several of which are shown in detail in Figure 5, are arranged to skim the surface of the water contained in the drum and to catch the lighter particles floating in the water,- to raise the water containing the lighter particles,iand to drop the same on a trough 25, which is inclined to carry the water outside of the drum and into a suitable classifying device indicated diagrammatically at 2t. From the classifying device the water returns through a trough 2l into the drum for further coaction with the other material contained fin the main drum.

,It will thus be seen that due to my two improvements the concentrates are gradually worked out of the main circuit, and treated in a separate circuit outside of the drum, while on IT- the other hand the fines are also separately treated and classified outside of the main drum. Any overflow passing the edges of the drum may be accommodated in suitable launders 28.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. Material is fed into the drum through the chute and passes through the water conned in the drum to the lower buckets. The latter raise the material and gradually discharge the same for violent impact with the breaker'plates whereby the material is comminuted and made to gravitate from the breaker plates back to the lower buckets. In passing the lighter particles are arrested and are picked up by the secondary buckets skimming the surface of the water and are discharged on the trough 25, and subjected to classification in the device 26, a part of the water and such particles `as are rejected by the classincation device being returned into the general circuit through the trough 2l.

While the bulk of each bucket is made to drop on the breaker plates, a small portion of the heavy concentrates which remain in the buckets toward the last are dropped on the trough 2Q' It will be understood that and are passed over the sluice box or other con-I centrating device 22 from where rejected material is passed back into the circuit of the main drumover the trough 23. 3':

Special attention is called to the supporting means for the drum including the rollers I 0. These rollers are made to form projecting parts of a chain 30 suspended from the spaced standards 3| with sucient slack to adjust itself to the circumference of the drum. The chain comprises a plurality of links 32 pivotally secured to shafts 33 on which the rollers I ll are free to revolve, the rollers being held against inward movement on the "shafts 'by collars 34. Short brackets 35 hold the lower portion of the chain against sidesway. The rollers thus supported will automatically adjust themselves to unevenness in the surface of the drum s'o that all rollers bear l an even share of the load.

I claim:

1. In combination, a breaker medium, a drum having buckets for elevating material and for gradually dropping the same over a. length of period on the breaker medium in a continuous circuit, a trough extending into the drum length- Wise and having a screen covering the same and being positioned to catch material remaining in the buckets toward the end of the discharge period and being inclined to carry the material outside of the drum, a classifying means adapted to receive theimaterial from the trough and a second trough disposed to receive material discharging from the classifying means and to return the same to the inside of the drum.

2. In combination, a breaker medium, a drum for holding water and material, buckets on the periphery of said drum for elevating material and for dropping the same on the breakermedium in a continuous circuit, the breaker medium being shaped to cause material to gravitate therefrom through the Water to the buckets at the bottom of. the drum, and a second series of buckets arranged in the -drum 'on a smaller radius so as to skim the waterl and catch material iioating near the top of the Water for separate classification of theA latter material.

3. In combination, a breaker medium,'a drum for holding Water and material, buckets on the periphery of said drum for elevating material and for dropping the same on the breaker medium in a continuous circuit, the breaker medium being shaped tocause material to gravitate therefrom through the Water Ato the buckets at i the bottom of the drum, a second series of buck- 40 ets arranged in the drum on a smaller radius so near the top of the water and to raise the same for dropping, a trough mounted for receiving the said material and for guiding the same outside of the drum, a classifying means for receiving the said material from the trough and a second trough having communication with the classifying means and adapted to return the water to the drum.

4. In an ore reducing machine, a circular row of buckets for elevating material and then for letting it fall, means-for catching only the material last to leave the buckets during the dumping period, means for classifying the caught material, land means for returning the portion of the classified material not Wanted back into the buckets, and screeningmeans disposed over the material catching means for preventing material largerthan a predetermined size from being caught and classified..

5. In an ore reducing machine, a breaker medium, a drum enclosing the breaker medium and having buckets on its inner periphery for elevating material and `for dropping the same on the breaker medium in a continuous closed circuit, the bottoms of the buckets being so inclined when they reach the top of the drum that they will drop the material over the same area for each rotation of the drum, the inclined bucket bottoms causing the concentrates of the material to leave the buckets after the buckets have passed the top center of the drum, meansplaced at the top of the drum and beyond its vertical center line in the direction of rotation for receiving the concentrates as they leave the buckets, screening means associated with said concentrate receiving means for permitting concentrates up/to a predetermined size to enter said means, and means for classifying the separated concentrates by Weight and for returning the lighter concentrates back into the circuit.

ALVAH D. HADSEL. 

